How To Succeed In The Competitive Freelance Market

The sharp rise in freelance workers over the last few years has meant that this is now a fiercely competitive marketplace. More and more people are turning to freelance work either to supplement their income or as a full-time position, and it is easy to see why when you consider the fact that you are your own boss, you can work wherever you like and whenever you like. Landing work has now become a difficult challenge for many freelance workers and particularly when people will lower their rates to secure work. So, how can you stand out from the crowd and land well-paid work in this competitive marketplace? Read on to find out.

Boost Your Skill Set

Every freelancer will have a niche in which they operate, andit is a good thing to have one solid skill. In addition to one solid skill, it is also helpful if you have a few others so that you appear more experienced to potential clients and also so that you can take on a wide range of tasks. Fortunately, it is easier than ever to boost your skill set with many online qualifications making it easy to learn marketing, social media management, programming, web design, etc.

Strong Online Presence

Every freelancer should have a strong online presence in the form of a high-quality website and being active across social media channels. The website will be an online resume so it should reflect your experience and skill set. Being active across social media allows you to connect with a much wider base and share your existing work for the world to see. You will want to be easy to find online, so it may be worth utilizing search engine optimization (SEO) from a digital marketing agency so that you can climb through the rankings and appear at the top of search lists. This will allow potential clients to find you and see you as an authoritative source in your particular field.

Be Proactive

If there is a company that you want to work forthen one of the best things that you can do is to be forthcoming and to approach them in a professional manner. Thiscould be via a cold email, but it can be much more powerful and memorable if you phone them up and attempt to arrange a meeting. Businesses are often impressed with this forthcoming style, and even if they don’t have work now, they will keep you in mind or possibly recommend you to an affiliate that does.

Work On Your Pitch

It can be hard to stand out from the crowd as a freelancer, particularly when trying to find work via job boards. The best way to get noticed is to have a great pitchthat clearly explains why you are the person for the job in a concise manner. Whether you are delivering this by email, phone or in person – work on your pitch until it is perfect and it will help you to get a foot in the door.

Be Professional

Just because you do not have a 9 to 5 desk job does not mean that you can be unprofessional. In any form of communication, you should always be professional by using appropriate language as nothing will deter a client quicker than unprofessional language, text talk and grammatical mistakes. It is fine to be friendly once you have established rapport, but always maintain an air of professionalism to gain the respect of those that you are in contact with.

Obtain References

Every freelance worker will state that they are hard-working, talented and dependable, so it sounds much more reliable when it comes from somebody that you have worked with before. Always ask clients for a reference that you can put on your website or profile and make sure that this is in a highly visible place. Additionally, when you obtain feedback, it also allows you to take on constructive criticism so that you can make adjustments to improve and become a better worker.

Research Online

Due to the fact thatthere has been a sharp rise in independent workers, it also means that there is a lot of excellent advice out there for landing work. You can find guidance for creating freelance websiteswhich will help to put you in pole position to succeed. In addition to this, take a look at a few other freelance workers’ websites to see what works well for them and what does not work so well.

Network

In such a digital world, there is now nothing more impactful than meeting somebody face-to-face and networking. Thisis much more memorable than a speculative email or a profile on a freelance website andit shows that you are confident and forthcoming. Network at every opportunity that you get and strike up as many professional relationships as possible – when you have met somebody in person and made a positive impression, you are much more likely to land work.

Develop Thick Skin

Now that the freelance market is so competitive, it means that you need to develop tough skin if you are to survive. You are sure to face endless rejections or have hundreds of unanswered emails and applications – do not let this derail you as it is simplypart of the business. For every 50 emails, you may only get one interested company. However, if this develops into ongoing work,then it will be worth it.

Succeeding as a freelance worker is harder than ever because so many people are now working in this way, either as a side gig or as a full-time position. This makes it difficult to stand out fromthe crowd, particularly if you are starting out. Follow the above advice, andbefore long you should find a well-paid position with ongoing work and start to build up a solidportfolio. Once you have foundsome stability, you can then begin to enjoy the perks that this style of working brings.